1. Technical Field
The present invention relates a pattern-forming method, a color filter manufacturing method, a color filter, an electro-optical apparatus manufacturing method, and an electro-optical apparatus.
2. Related Art
Recently, color filters having coloring layers of various colors (red, green, blue) have come to be used in liquid crystal display devices, which are electro-optical apparatuses, in order to provide color to the display screen. In the method of manufacturing these color filters, a liquid-phase process is used in which the color filter is formed by coating a coloring layer-forming area, which is enclosed in a light-blocking layer (black matrix), with a solution (coloring layer solution) of a coloring layer-forming material, which is for forming the coloring layers, and then drying the solution.
In the inkjet method in this liquid-phase process, the solution is ejected as minute droplets, such that finer coloring layers can therefore be formed than with other liquid-phase processes (for example, spin coating, dispensing, and the like).
However, in such inkjet methods, in order to prevent the ejected droplets from leaking into the adjacent coloring layer-forming areas, the light-blocking layer is made of a material (liquid-repellent material) that repels droplets. A light-blocking layer shaped to enclose the coloring layer-forming areas is then formed by applying a light-blocking film made of the liquid-repellent material over the entire substrate surface, and then patterning this light-blocking film.
However, if tiny residue fragments of the light-blocking film remain in the coloring layer-forming areas during the steps of patterning the light-blocking film described above, following problems result when the inkjet method is to be carried out.
Specifically, since the light-blocking film is made of liquid-repellent material, the wetting capability of the ejected droplets decreases in the vicinity of the residue of the light-blocking film. Therefore, the ejected droplets do not wet the entire coloring layer-forming areas, which results in non-uniformities in the shape (patterned shape) of the coloring layers, creates discoloration in the display screen of the liquid crystal display device, and causes other problems.